The use of pressure activated cohesive has revolutionized the mailer type business form industry. Pressure activated cohesive forms, such as sold by Moore U.S.A., Inc. of Lake Forest, Ill. under the trademark SPEEDISEALER, have numerous advantages over conventional mailer systems. However, despite these numerous advantages, there is a drawback in using the pressure activated cohesive sealing system when the mailer has an insert, such as a card, such as the increasingly popular club cards, phone cards, debit cards, and the like. When such an insert is used it is necessary to seal the form with edge sealing equipment, such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,133,828 and 5,169,489. While such equipment is very effective, for some applications it is more effective if a simple conventional steam roller sealer is utilized, which comprises a pair of rolls which apply a sealing pressure of at least 100 pounds per linear inch to the entire mailer rather than just to portions thereof where pressure activated cohesive is likely to be. A steam roller sealer is also very simple, and does not require the movement of the mailer in two transverse directions, but rather all sealing is done in the one pass with unidirectional movement.
According to the present invention, it is possible to use steam-roll sealing with mailer type business forms having pressure activated cohesive while at the same time having an insert, such as a card. This is accomplished by providing particular surface manifestations in a business form intermediate which receive the card, and by dimensioning the relative thicknesses between the card and the business form intermediate in particular ways.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a method of forming a mailer type business form from an intermediate having a plurality of pressure activated cohesive cooperating patterns and a first thickness, and a card having a second thickness substantially the same as or less than the first thickness, is provided. The method comprises the following: (a) Forming a surface manifestation in at least one portion of the intermediate having length and width dimensions at least as great as length and width dimensions of the card. (b) Placing the card in operative association with the surface manifestation. (c) Folding the intermediate to form an unsealed mailer with the pressure activated cohesive patterns in operative association with each other. And (d) steam-roll sealing the unsealed mailer to cause the pressure activated cohesive patterns to seal, to form a final mailer.
(a) may be practiced by forming a cutout as the surface manifestation. The method may further comprise placing a patch having a thickness less than one-fourth the thickness of the intermediate over the cutout to prevent the card from passing through the cutout during subsequent handling; or the method may further comprise forming a first fold in the intermediate covering the cutout to prevent the card from passing through the cutout during subsequent handling. The method also typically further comprises imaging at least one of the card and the intermediate (preferably both) after (b) and before (c). The method may be practiced with the forms in continuous web, or cut sheet, formats.
Alternatively, (a) may be practiced by reducing the thickness of the intermediate (such as by embossing) at two portions thereof that are aligned with each other after the practice of (c), and (b) is practiced by placing the card in contact with one of the reduced thickness portions. Again, the method may further comprise imaging at least one of the card and the intermediate after (b) and before (c).
Typically (a) through (d) are practiced using a card having substantially the same thickness as the intermediate; for example, (a) through (d) may be practiced using a card about 7 mil thick and 38 pound ledger paper as the intermediate.
According to another aspect of the present invention a business form intermediate is provided comprising the following components: A substantially quadrate sheet of paper having first and second faces and having a first thickness, first length and width dimensions, and having at least a first fold line. A card having a second thickness substantially equal to or less than the thickness of the first thickness, and second length and width dimensions less than half the length and width dimensions of the sheet of paper. A plurality of patterns of pressure activated cohesive formed on the first face, for cooperation with each other when the sheet of paper is folded about the first fold line. At least one surface manifestation formed in the sheet of paper having length and width dimensions substantially equal to or greater than the second length and width dimensions. The card disposed in operative association with at least one surface manifestation. And the at least one surface manifestation constructed so that when the sheet of paper is folded about the first fold line with the card received by the at least one surface manifestation, the intermediate has uniform enough thickness to be properly pressure sealed by a steam-roller sealer.
The at least one surface manifestation may comprise a cutout, and the intermediate may further comprise a patch, having a thickness less than one-fourth of the first thickness, covering the cutout. Alternatively, the sheet of paper may have a second fold line substantially parallel to the first fold line, and the sheet of paper may be folded about that second fold line prior to folding about the first fold line in order to maintain the card within the cutout.
Alternatively, the at least one surface manifestation comprises first and second thinned portions of the sheet of paper disposed on opposite sides of the first fold line so as to cooperate, and hold the card therein, when the sheet of paper is folded about the first fold line.
Desirably the first and second thicknesses are substantially the same, such as the card having a thickness of about 7 mils and the sheet of paper being 38 pound ledger paper (i.e. 38 pounds per 1000 sheet 11.times.17 inch ream).
According to another aspect of the present invention a business form intermediate is provided comprising the following components: A substantially quadrate sheet of paper having first and second faces and having a first thickness, first length and width dimensions, and having at least a first fold line. A card having a second thickness greater than the thickness of the first thickness, and second and length and width dimensions less than half the length and width dimensions of the sheet of paper. A plurality of patterns of pressure activated cohesive formed on the first face, for cooperation with each other when the sheet of paper is folded about the first fold line. At least two surface manifestations formed on the sheet of paper on opposite sides of the first fold line and having length and width dimensions substantially equal to or greater than the second length and width dimensions. The card disposed in operative association with one of the surface manifestations. And the surface manifestations constructed so that when the sheet of paper is folded about the first fold line with the card received by the one of the surface manifestations the intermediate has uniform enough thickness to be properly pressure sealed by a steam-roller sealer wherein both said first and second surface manifestations comprise cutouts, and further comprising a patch having a thickness less than one-fourth said first thickness covering each of said cutouts.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a method of forming a mailer type business form, and providing an intermediate for forming the mailer type business form, which allow the business form to have an insert yet be sealed with a conventional steam-roll sealer. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from an inspection of the detailed description of the invention and from the appended claims.